X-Men: Unheard
by Wooby
Summary: A collection of stories about mutants you may never have heard of. After all, not all of those in Xavier's school got to be immortalized. Follow a set of OCs and their interactions with one another, as well as with characters you already know and love.


"This new student is going to present us with somewhat of a challenge, I think. Her problem is... Different." Professor Xavier lifted a cup of tea to his lips, letting the moment of silence drip through the kitchen. There was only one other person in the room- the only teacher in the school he thought could get the job done. Logan leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and raising an incredulous brow at the Professor. "Chuck... You know I'm not very good with the younger kids. That's why I run the high-level training circuits, remember? What is this girl- five?"

"Ah. Well..." Charles set down his tea, looking up to the left side of his head, "I'm not so sure she is. I think she may be older- fifteen or sixteen- but her mentality matches that of a younger child. I've not really been able to get her to talk about what all happened before I picked up on her through Cerebro. Something tells me her demeanor is attributed to something that has happened to her."

"Well." Logan stood, feeling a mite restless, "I know you don't like using your power unnecessarily, but isn't this, like, one of those necessary times?" Charles pushed the control on the arm of his chair back to make room if Logan wanted to sit in the chair beside him, but he remained standing for the time being, "On the contrary, I believe it is imperative I do not break her trust by looking at her memories. This is the first place that has offered her safety, and imposing on her personal space in such a way is definitely going to give her cause to not trust me. It was already all I could do to get her to come here with me, and she was living on the street with nothing. To say she is shy is, well, a very serious understatement."

This entire idea was sounding more destitute to Logan the more Charles went on, "So, for some reason, you think that I am the best choice to help a mentally scarred, timid, untrained, toddler mentality mutant?" Charles couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, well, when you put it that way it does sound strange. But it isn't the entire truth. The issue she is having over control of her abilities is one I think you can relate with above anyone else at this institute. You see, by happenstance, I was able to get a glimpse of her fighting prowess."

"Oh? She has prior training or something?" Logan was a bit intrigued now, but Charles shook his head, "None. However, when provoked, she seems to go into a state of unmitigated rage. Berserk, you might say." Charles held up a hand to show the battle wound he had received from the girl. He had already been patched up, but Logan was surprised he hadn't noticed it until now, aside from the tiny lingering scent of blood. "So, go ahead and correct me if I am wrong, but you think I'm the best one to help her because I have anger management issues, too?"

Charles smiled widely at his old friend, "Precisely." Logan didn't laugh, but a small grin played at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I dunno if I'll be very good at this, Chuck. But that ain't to say I ain't willing to try. I suppose, when it comes down to it, I'm likely the only teacher here who could train her and not come out lookin' like a train wreck every time. If she is really as berserk as you say." He didn't need any more reassurances, though. He could tell by the look in Chuck's eyes that he was very serious about this. Charles nodded in response, "I know you can handle it. Once she is settled she will need our help. I wasn't too upset about being caught in the crossfire, but her reaction when she came to- my. You would have thought she had done the unthinkable."

It didn't need to be said, because both men knew that she could hurt someone again, if not properly trained. That kind of stress could set a kid as fragile as Chuck was describing back too many steps. "First, however, you are going to have to gain her trust. Like I said- she is extremely skittish. Her fear will be just as much of an obstacle to her training as her rage is."

"I hear ya, Chuck. This one needs delicacy, too. Ugh. I'm not sure you picked the right man for the job, but I trust you. I'll give it a shot. Where is she now?" Charles was extremely relieved to hear this news. "Thank you, my friend. I promise I'll repay you. She is in one of the guest bedrooms- I didn't want to stress her out by moving her into the dorms right away." Logan chuckled, "Yeah yeah, just leave the beer where I normally hide it." He made his way out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, groaning silently to himself and wondering exactly how he let Chuck talk him into this one.

"Oh. One more thing." Logan heard that familiar voice ringing in his head, "Don't be surprised of her appearance. I think it is part of her anxiety." Logan grunted in response. He worked with a giant blue furry man. How shocking could she be?

The door to the guest bedroom was cracked and the light was off. Surely she hadn't gone anywhere- not with how frightened Chuck had painted her to be. Logan gave a gentle knock on the door, but there was no response, "Hello?" He called in, cracking the door more and peeking in. There wasn't much to see, so he gave a light sniff of the air. She was definitely in there, so he opened the door all the way and let a little light come in. It wasn't enough to illuminate where she was, but would give her a good view of him, "Hey. There's no need to be scared. Chuck is a really good friend of mine. He told me he brought you here?" There was no response, but he was certain she was in the room. Slowly he sat down on the floor, wondering if it might make her less afraid if he looked smaller.

After another long silence and the absence of any indication that the girl had moved, Logan decided he would just keep talking. "Chuck says I'm gonna be yer new teacher. I'm sure he explained to you that's what we do here. We teach kids like you in a safe place- and train 'em to control their powers, too." He heard a small rustle, like she was shifting around nervously. "You don't gotta be scared here, kid. We are all different. You can bet that, as long as I am here, ain't nobody gonna ever bother you about your mutation while you are at this institute." As much as he liked to think of himself as a hardened warrior, Logan did have a soft spot for the kids. He enjoyed his work at the institute... Usually.

As his thoughts trailed off, he heard a very tiny response. If his hearing hadn't been exceptional, he may have missed it. She simply said, "Who is Chuck?" Logan was a bit taken back by the question, but it slowly dawned on him and he smirked, "Oh. He prefers being called Charles. Or Professor. The guy with the wheels and shiny head. Hard to miss him."

Logan sat still, waiting to see if she would say anything else. When there was a long silence, he decided to see if she would answer a question of his. "And my name is Logan. What's your name?" There was a pause, but she answered back quicker than he imagined she would. Still in the same quiet voice that could easily be mistaken for a breeze sneaking in through the windowpane, "R-r-r-rr-R-r-Ruby..."

"Heh. Well, R-r-r-r-Ruby. Are you hungry?" The response to his next question was a lot more than he had anticipated. Suddenly she appeared out of the shadow, staring at him intently as she stood on all fours in front of him. He was a little shocked at her appearance. Never before had he seen a mutant so closely resembling an animal. Sure, many of them had fangs and fur and whatnot, but standing before him was a giant rat. A scraggly and sharp one, too. Her beady black eyes watched him intently as he looked her over. She still had human hands, and her body still showed some of the shapes of her once human skeleton, but for the most part she was all rodent, albeit a huge and talking one.

"Yes." She squeaked. Logan would never admit it out loud, but she was pretty cute. She had had the unfortunate circumstance of taking the shape of a creature that had a bad reputation, but if they all had so many whiskers and sad little eyes like her, he presumed they would be able to talk their way into anything.

"There she is. Looks like the way to your heart is through your stomach, huh? Heh. Me, too. Come on, Ruby." Logan stood slowly, not wanting to spook her more, but as he turned to exit, she suddenly clammed up again. "B-but. There's lotsa peoples... In this house. Out theres. To many peoples.. They gonna see me." Logan watched her tiny nose sniff at the air. Of course her senses would be animal-like, too. Perhaps they were more similar than he had originally thought. "All the kids are asleep right now, though. It will be just you and me, unless Chuck joins us. Do you want him to sit with us, too?"

Ruby shook her head slowly, her thin, furless ears drooping down against the back of her neck. Logan turned to face her, attempting to be reassuring, "He's not mad at you, I promise." Ruby shifted about, her long tail snaking about so much that Logan was sure she would trip over it. He crouched down, holding a hand out towards her, "Come on, it will just be you and me then, alright?" There was another silent pause, slightly longer than the last, but then he found himself at the end of a little girl tackle. It caught him off guard, but he caught her without hesitation and watched her hide her face in his shirt. She felt just like holding a normal little girl except for the extra fuzz and the tension. She was so strained he thought she could be easily be mistaken for a rock. Chuck hadn't been kidding when he was talking about her fear.

Moving slowly, Logan got up and made his way back to the kitchen, silently sending a note to Chuck that he should clear out if he hadn't finished his cuppa yet. Then he added that he was going to end up owing him big time. Something told him that it would be an arduous journey to teach this particular student.e.


End file.
